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The other side of that question is: if other airbag makers weren't able to patent the better mixture, would they ever have bothered to invent it?

I'm not implying that the answer is necessarily "no," but the mere fact that patents discouraged the use of a safer mixture in one case doesn't tell the whole story.

> If Takata was allowed to use the mixture that was "invented" by other airbag makers

It doesn't invalidate the question as a whole, but they would have been allowed to if they licensed the solution but that may have cost them more than developing their own (now known to be badly floored) solution. An active choice was made there.

If Takata was allowed to use the mixture that was "invented" by other airbag makers, would they invest money into inventing them in the first place?