[someweirdperson]

I guess it is limited to specific industries. Check the product description of Mathworks Simulink, which has many examples of things rightfully called model. In reality though (I don't have a reference for that, just my own observation) it is almost exclusively used as a graphical coding tool and the graphical code is called the model.

A case of cargo-cult. Attempt to apply the practice but badly (use the tool, but not the way its use is advertized), and use the terms for use of the tool instead of the practice, reserving it for that to promote their beloved tool over alternative approaches.