Tesla reactor

The Tesla reactor is the Soviet basic power supplying structure in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge.

Background
It was developed based on theoretical and practical design specs created by Nikola Tesla, as its name implies. Unlike its predecessor, which was a simple conventional power plant that was identical to its Allied counterpart, the Tesla reactor is a USSR-patented device. It shares many similarities with an earlier creation, the Tesla coil, but differs significantly: where the Tesla coil was a barely contained open circuit of electricity, the Tesla reactor was a well grounded closed circuit.

After Anatoly Cherdenko's interference with the timeline, the Tesla reactor was replaced by the more traditional Reactor.

In-game
While the Tesla reactor is quick to construct and provides the same amount of power units per credit spent as the Allied second-generation power plant, it occupies a larger footprint (2x3 vs. 2x2) and produces less power per reactor, meaning equivalent power generation requires considerably more space.

Development
Originally, it was supposed to be an advanced nuclear reactor, with the ball being an exposed reaction chamber and a sliding barrier that could extend and protect it (the cut turtle mode).

Cameos
Alpha icon: In order: English, French, German, Korean, Chinese.