Nikola Tesla vs Thomas Edison



Nikola Tesla vs Thomas Edison is the thirtieth installment of Epic Rap Battles of History and the fifteenth episode of Season 2. It features the inventor of the Tesla coil and pioneer of alternating current, Nikola Tesla, rapping against the inventor of the first incandescent light bulb and discoverer of direct current, Thomas Edison. It was released on March 11th, 2013.

Cast
Nice Peter as Nikola Tesla (voice only)

EpicLLOYD as Thomas Edison

Dante Cimadamore as Nikola Tesla (also helped with voice)

Thomas Edison:
Step up! You'll be shocked when I spit and start static.

I'll rip your style and add it to my long list of patents!

While you were busy digging ditches and burning bridges,

I'm pumping out inventions, stacking riches, so go back to your pigeons!

You're a geek; plagued by OCD!

You never had sex, but you sure got screwed by me!

I'll crush you, Tesla. There's just no putting it gently.

I don't alternate my flow. I diss you, directly!

Nikola Tesla:
I see a universe of infinite energy,

But no potential for threat from this enemy!

So you can call me Tesla, Nikola, impeccably dressed.

Giving lessons in electrical nemesis, this will be on the test!

So confess to your thefts, and let the whole world know

What the Serbian did for the Wizard of Menlo!

History is getting rewritten, and I have reddit.

Your best invention was a way to steal credit.

Thomas Edison:
The truth hertz. You're broke and washed up!

Don't give a smidgen 'bout your visions if they can't make a buck!

I conduct business, understood things you never could.

So dope that I even make New Jersey look good!

I'm on the record I invented. You got duped, there, I said it,

And I'll bet you 50 thousand dollars that you'll never forget it!

Without me, here's a taste of what this battle would be:

(screen goes black and the beat stops)

No lights, no camera, no sound. See?

Nikola Tesla:
You fool! You think that you can touch me with this?

You couldn't handle my gifts with your greedy little mind.

What's inside mine was ahead of its own time.

You did not steal from me; you stole me from mankind!

It's a wireless transmission of truth,

And it's shocking real story of a banker and you,

And if the people knew you stopped me from making power free,

They would curse the con Edison with every utility!

General

 * This is the third battle to contain no cursing at all. The first being Einstein vs Stephen Hawking and the second being Mario Bros vs Wright Bros.
 * This is the first and only battle that doesn't have any comments shown to suggest the idea during the "You decide!" portion of the video, despite having many comments suggesting it before the video's release.
 * Each of the ERB season finales (Nice Peter vs EpicLLOYD, Rasputin vs Stalin, and Artists vs TMNT) were also shown to not have a comment suggesting it, but did not have a "Who won? Who's next? You decide!" scene.

Production

 * This is the first battle that does not have Nice Peter appearing at all, neither as a rapper nor as a cameo, but only as the voice of a rapper.
 * This is the second battle where a character is played by one person and voiced by another, the first being Leonidas in Master Chief vs Leonidas.
 * This is the first battle since Moses vs Santa Claus where Nice Peter has a rapping role.
 * This is the first battle since Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates where all of the actors in the entire video have been either Peter, Lloyd, or an ERB crew member. In this case, Dante.
 * This is the first battle to have two different people providing the voice for one character at the same time. As both Nice Peter and Dante Cimadamore provided the voice for Nikola Tesla.