If we average that, then we get 136,231.25 miles before the price difference pays for itself.
But you also need to factor in that when you've reached 136 kmiles, your battery is worn out and you need to drop a fresh $20k on a new battery (or take $20k off your car's resale value).
Stock market is a zero-sum game (wealth transfer vehicle).
That doesn't make sense. Suppose a simple stock market with only a single share of a single company. Alice buys it at $1, holds it for a year, and then sells it to Bob for $2. After another year Bob sells it to Carol for $3. Alice made $1 profit, Bob made $1 profit, and Carol has an asset that is worth $3. Where's the zero sum? Is Carol's stock really worth $-2?? You seem to accept that the economy can grow overall. If companies can grow, then so can the stock market.
I remember choosing between eating, living in bad neighborhoods, putting gas in the car, etc.
A starving student with a car?! I think we've isolated the problem.
even if its as simple as stopping the massive amounts of emissions
In what way would deindustrialization and the attendant five-billions deaths be considered "simple". Heck, I'd bet there'd be some political push-back on your idea after as few as one-billion deaths.
Considering that climate engineering would cost us only a tiny fraction of cost of deindustrialization -- and has a chance in hell of actually working -- it's the approach we should be taking the most seriously.
that it is a nice idea that cannot be realized with current levels of technology
Technology? It cannot be realized because of human nature. We're going to need a transformative upgrade to that before any -ism that requires everyone to "play nice" can be realized in practice.
He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion