Quote of the day by Nikola Tesla: Over 90% of the world’s electricity grids run on alternating current today. That system traces back to Nikola Tesla. The Nikola Tesla quote — “The present is theirs; the future is mine” — reflects long-term vision. Tesla lost public battles. In a 1909 New York Times interview, Tesla described a pocket-sized device that would let any person on Earth communicate instantly with anyone else through a global wireless network. He described the iPhone 98 years before Apple launched it.