Not sure about it 'destroying every industry on the planet' - anyway you are correct about the 'potential energy' stored in the earths electric field it's about 100v per meter as =you m\ove away from the surface - however there is currently no way to harnass it as the current/amprage is low. However the idea is that Tesla figured out how to soak that energy up and utilize it. And maybe he did. It's also the same idea that Ayn Rand was talking about for the force that John Galt discovered. It also makes it's appearance in 'Antiquitech' as related to the Tartaria / Mudflood theory. Certainly a fun rabbit hole to go down.