This, at first blush, appears to be real (there are some exceptions, as I'll note later). It's been a long time since I screwed with this kind of stuff, but a Tesla coil works off of high voltage at resonant frequencies. Tesla himself imaging using large-scale coils to power things like light bulbs wirelessly. While Edison was the master of things like DC voltages, Tesla was a genius with high voltages and alternating current, and was one of the first proponents for the 120 VAC you've got running through your home. He knew the advantages of transmitting alternating current (tuned to a specific frequency) across long distances for distribution purposes.
Most Tesla coils are coils within coils, and are tuned like a musical instrument. Couple that with high frequencies, and you get what you see here in the picture.
The circle around the top is called a "halo" or "corona". It is common with Tesla coils.
Generally, despite very high voltages involved, you can actually arc electricity from a Tesla coil to your body, and shunt it to the ground. Air is actually a pretty good insulator, and if you maintain a decent distance from the coil, you can make an arc jump to your finger. However, the closer you get to the coil, the less air you put between you and the coil, and the more current you'll pass through your body. It takes, I believe, only something like 20 mA to kill you, which is not a lot of juice.
So, it looks, at first glance, to be a valid photo. However...
There are two problems with what I see. First, the aluminum ladder appears to have plastic or rubber feet at the bottom. This would insulate the ladder, much like wearing thick rubber / leather gloves insulates a line electrician from getting zapped by thousands of volts when he/she works on a live power line. Secondly - and this is harder to tell - that basketball net looks to me to be made of plastic. Most certainly the base appears to be made of plastic. Unless grounded by unseen wires, these devices would not be good conductors of electricity.
So, there is a possibility that the photo is a fake.
Here is a video of a small Tesla coil gone bad.
http://www.truveo.com/class-e-tesla-coil-at-full-power-with-explosion/id/1994495586
