Electric cars don't solve the problem of particulate matter, in fact if you buy an electric truck, it may make the problem worse because of the weight (wear on the tires is one of the biggest sources of particulate emissions).

I think brake dust is even worse than tires, and EVs rarely use friction brakes.

I'm pretty sure that with sufficient R&D we could invent better tyres that either didn't wear much or were made of less damaging materials.

Just nobody is putting money into it.

Tires are a multibillion dollar industry, why would you think no one is putting money into R&D for it?

Tyres that didn't wear wouldn't need replacing... Thats why lightbulb companies famously stopped making bulbs last longer.

A good chunk of wear can be eliminated by ensuring tyres never skid by having per wheel torque control, which future 4-motor EV's will have 'for free'.

The Phoebus cartel only worked because it was a cartel… and it only worked until it didn’t. Again, why would you think no one is putting money into this rather than it’s simply a hard or unsolvable problem? What material would you suggest to be hard wearing yet pliable enough for good grip and comfort?

Imagine a world that wasn’t built on the profit margins of petroleum refinement. No tires, no plastics, no bitumen; defaulting to some other mode of transport, not a state-subsidised automobile cult.

Another mode of transport will still be state-subsidised. That is what states do since Antiquity. Already the Romans invested huge money into ports and their famous road network.

Criticizing cars is fine, but "state-subsidized" is just superfluous there. This is not somehow unique to cars.

Inherent in creating force between the tire and road surface is micro-slippage. What humans see as skidding/slipping is only the gross slippage. Every time you turn, slow, or accelerate, the tires deform internally and slip against the road surface (and wear).