There's something to be said for Einstein lending a little credibility to Tesla. Tesla had a habit of not writing down all of his ideas, and a more worrisome habit of taking money from investors and doing stuff with it that he wasn't supposed to. The OP's example of wireless power is exactly one such theft of invested funds (Tesla was Supposed to be building a radio tower). So even if Tesla did get his reputation boosted by Einstein I don't think Tesla would have done much with it.
But, giving him the benefit of the doubt:
He creates his wireless power system to broadcast electricity long distances without the use of wires, but soon runs into numerous problems. A lot of the power is lost in the transfer, far more than through wire transfer. Weather anomalies occur because of the electro-magnetic interference and animals that rely on electro-magnetics for navigation (eg: Birds) are severely disorientated. But this is nothing compared to the human cost, from the people living between the towers who can no longer turn off their lights because a circut through the air is constantly created. Even removing the light bulbs does nothing.
It'd be decades before such a thing would be attempted, with the advent of Nuclear power driving a desire to light up the world, but data from the first attempt and new tests there rises a correlation between intense exposure to radiation and cancer (Specificly in this case, to radio waves). Safety limits are placed on experimentation and development of radio technology, limiting technological development.
It isn't until the widespread development of the laser that wireless energy transfer is really thought of again. An experimental satelite is put into orbit with large solar pannels and a laser to transmit the power to Earth (In a remote desert location). It works wonderfully, and most people read about it in the daily paper (Wireless TV being put aside due to rising radiation concerns and cable TV infrastructure still being developed).
By 2008 the world is a much different place: Wireless internet, cell phones, and wireless TV never really developed. Laptops never became widespread as their use was tied to wireless internet. The cancer rate is much lower than OTL's, and large satelites are in orbit over most industrial nations, beaming down energy. But still, protestors are complaining that the energy being beamed from space is messing with the global temperature and weather patterns, leading to a "Global Warming" effect.