My vague understanding is that it also exists because the NHTSA notices a problem and demands the manufacturer to fix it. Which is to say, my understanding is

My vague understanding is that it also exists because the NHTSA notices a problem and demands the manufacturer to fix it. Which is to say, my understanding is that if Tesla had noticed the issue first, and fixed it immediately, then no recall would have been issued. And since it's an OTA update that Tesla can push whenever, it was totally within Tesla's power to fix it before someone at the NHTSA went through the trouble of issuing a recall. Tesla owners should be pissed at Tesla for outsourcing software Q&A to the NHTSA, not at the NHTSA for issuing recalls when it finds bugs.