His work was foundational for the theory. However his later contributions to it was mostly detailed critiques. The critiques were brilliant and proved critical in shaping our understanding of the theory. (Even though Einstein wound up losing over and over again.)
There's really nothing like a determined and intelligent debate opponent for honing your arguments, and Einstein was immensely valuable in that regard.
Similarly, when Scalia died Ginsburg said she would miss his rebuttals to her opinions because they always made her final product better.
Today we can ignore history's detractors, but that doesn't mean people at the the time shared our view of things.