Nikola Tesla caused an earthquake in New York with a mechanical oscillator.

the verdict

REFUTED

the evidence says no

Recorded sources

0 sources for · 1 against

Counts group repeated records of the same source within each side. They do not measure evidence strength or source independence.

Is it true that Nikola Tesla caused an earthquake in New York with a mechanical oscillator?

No. The only relevant source, Wikipedia's article on Tesla's oscillator, reports that Tesla himself claimed late in life that a version of his mechanical oscillator caused an earthquake in New York City in 1898, and that the story is a claim rather than an established event.

Verdict: REFUTED · 0 sources for, 1 against · Last checked 3 Oct 2026

The private library was unavailable for some searches in this check. Missing library results are not evidence against the claim.

Evidence against · 1

Tesla's oscillator - Wikipedia

Get citation

Tesla's oscillator - Wikipedia. (n.d.). en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla%27s_oscillator

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