It is heavily used at and funded by Mozilla but they have almost zero influence over the direction of the language.
Actually, this kind of perception is the reason that they have been recently talking about forming a Rust Foundation.
http://smallcultfollowing.com/babysteps/blog/2020/01/09/towa...
I think starting Rust, not Firefox, will be what Mozilla is remembered for in 50 years.
And yet from your own citation:
> Mozilla has from the get-go attempted to create an independent governance structure and to solicit involvement from other companies, because we know this makes Rust a better language for everyone.
It seems like they have a lot of influence over the language, and other things. Like, whether there's independent governance or not. I'm happy they're looking for collaborators, but lets not pretend that founder status comes with zero influence.
Would Rust be where it is today if it wasn't for Mozilla's clout?