RFC2547 supports my claim that a VPN does not imply privacy. There is only one mention of "encryption", and it's called out as optional:

   A security-conscious VPN user might want to ensure that some or all
   of the packets which traverse the backbone are authenticated and/or
   encrypted.

Webster's definition of a VPN is (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/VPN):

    a private computer network that functions over a public network

A private network at the time was defined according to RFC1918. It also provides the motivation for private networks/the private IP address space, which was growth, not privacy/secrecy.

It's a happy coincidence that you can sell a "Virtual Private Network" to endusers as a privacy-enhancing machination, given that it already contains the word "Private", even if that was meant as in private parking space, not private conversation.