Financial troubles
By the Summer of 1902 Tesla had shifted his laboratory operations from the Houston street Laboratory to the rural Long Island setting and work began on development of the station.
Construction had been made possible largely through the backing of financier J. P. Morgan who had offered Tesla $150,000 towards the end of 1900.
By July 1904, however, this support had run out and Tesla was compelled to pursue alternative methods of financing.
In spite of valiant efforts to maintain the operation, income dwindled and his employees were eventually dropped from the payroll.