I think you're taking it too literally. It's meant to convey the meaning of "Delivering a payload wasn't the goal, testing the rocket and all associated systems was the goal".
(As someone who doesn't require absolute precision in all things) I find myself often wondering why. To feel smart? Argumentitiveness? A deep psychological need for precision?
Even if the money doesn't come from an external customer it's payed for. In addition to that, the fact that for the Ariane it is ultimately all tax money anyways makes the way it flows even less important.