Why is The Prestige Tesla's machine actually "real"?

Why is The Prestige Tesla's machine actually "real"? - Old fashioned car parked near motorbikes in green street

Borden sent Angier to Tesla as a misleading fake clue, but why did Tesla knew about the machine Angier was talking about if it was just Borden's crazy idea to mislead Angier?

Or even if he didn't know and just made such machine for Angier... Is it supposed that Borden just had the crazy idea of a teleportation machine and Tesla was just casually working on the very same thing?



Best Answer

Borden didn't account for Tesla actually building a working clone machine.

Tesla is a very eccentric man. It's in his behavior, but anyone who heard what he was working on or experimenting with would similarly conclude that, and assume that he's chasing a pipe dream, no more than an alchemist trying to turn lead into gold.

It makes no sense for Borden to send Angier to Tesla in the knowledge that Tesla had a working machine. What makes much more sense, is that Borden tried sending Angier on a wild goose chase by convincing him this "obviously hopeless" inventor was trying to build the impossible.

Angier, driven by his need to learn Borden's trick, would likely spend a lot of time before he'd realize that Tesla was a fake lead. He has every reason to believe that Borden's code was supposedly real, and Tesla actually talks about trying to invent the exact technology that would explain Borden rather inexplicable trick.

Keep in mind this movie takes place in the 1800s, and how long Angier would have been away from London, giving Borden a lot of time to become unrivaled by Angier. This mostly works, when you consider that Angier had to reintroduce himself to the stage upon his return. Had he not had this amazing new trick (which seemed likely to Borden, since Borden didn't account for Tesla actually building a working clone machine), Angier would've been lagging behind Borden for quite some time.




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Did the machine actually work in The Prestige?

Spoiler alert. Will start with this, the machine not working is not suppose to be obvious. It is like the magic tricks in the movie, the trick is not easy to spot, it's difficulty leads you to believe its real.

Is the Tesla machine Real in The Prestige?

And so it dawned on me, as it has, it seems, on a number of other viewers, the idea that the Tesla Machine isn't real, that it doesn't really work. That the Prestige is not a sci-fi film, nor is it naturalistic up until the end and 99% of the time, but that it is 100% realistic all throughout.

What is the Tesla trick in The Prestige?

In a nutshell, Angier believes that Tesla built a machine for Borden, and he demands that the inventor replicate it. Tesla finally relents, and creates a machine that allows Angier to clone himself. Finally, Angier can pull off his magic trick. Each night, he clones himself on stage by stepping into Tesla's machine.

What happened to Tesla in The Prestige?

Tesla's machine is sold off to the wealthy Lord Caldlow, who is revealed to be the true identity of a seemingly still alive Angier. Angier visits Borden in prison, accompanied by Borden's daughter Jess. In exchange for his tricks, Borden asks Angier to let his daughter go, but Angier leaves with Jess.



about Nikola Tesla from the movie the Prestige




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Images: Maria Orlova, Skylar Kang, Tim Samuel, Skylar Kang