Popular Tesla investor warns Saylor’s Bitcoin model 'destroys value'
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Tesla investor and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, Ross Gerber, has joined the chorus of critics questioning Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin strategy.
In a Dec. 2 post, Gerber mocked the business model of Strategy, writing:
“I'm going to start a company to buy gold. Then go public and you can pay 1.5x the gold I own because the business of buying gold is so special it deserves a premium... or maybe it should be a discount... as this actually costs money and destroys value... gold and Bitcoin are fine as they are... $IAU $MSTR $BTC.”
Gerber’s remarks echo a growing skepticism toward Saylor’s long-standing decision to turn his company into a Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation vehicle.
Strategy builds USD reserve fail-safe
Ross's comments come at a time when Strategy is having a wake-up call about its balance sheet.
On Dec. 1, Strategy announced the creation of a $1.44 billion United States dollar (USD) reserve, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Dubbed the “USD Reserve,” the fund was financed through proceeds from the firm’s at-the-market stock offering and will be used to support dividend payments on preferred stock and service debt obligations.
The USD Reserve comes at a time when the company’s market-implied net asset value (mNAV) — the ratio of enterprise value to Bitcoin per-share value — has collapsed toward 1x. This means Strategy’s stock is now trading almost exactly at the value of its BTC holdings, with little to no premium.
What Strategy’s business model actually is
Strategy is no longer viewed as a traditional software and business-intelligence company. Under Michael Saylor, the firm effectively reinvented itself as a publicly traded Bitcoin holding vehicle.
Here’s how the model works:
- The company raises money by issuing stock or convertible debt.
- It uses most of that capital to buy Bitcoin.
- The value of the business becomes tied almost entirely to BT
- Shareholders pay a premium above the value of Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings because they treat the company as a leveraged, actively managed BTC proxy.
For years, this strategy worked in Saylor’s favor:
- MSTR traded well above the market value of its BTC stash.
- Investors paid for the leverage, the branding, and Saylor’s aggressive accumulation.
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- MicroStrategy stock drops 60% from peak as mNAV approaches 1
A 1 mNAV, or constant $1 net asset value, carries the risk of creating a false sense of stability. Investors assume their money is always worth $1, but if the underlying assets lose value, the fund can break the buck, triggering panic redemptions.
These funds often hold less liquid securities, forcing fire sales during stress and amplifying losses.
Strategy said it aims to maintain at least 12 months of dividend coverage, with long-term plans to extend that to 24 months or more.
JPMorgan warns of potential delisting
According to a recent JPMorgan research note, Strategy could also soon be removed from major equity indices, including the MSCI USA Index, a benchmark that tracks large- and mid-cap U.S. companies covering about 85% of the domestic equity market.
The warning comes amid a $5.38 billion reduction in institutional holdings during the third quarter of 2025. A filing shows that institutional ownership of MSTR fell from $36.32 billion at the end of Q2 to $30.94 billion by Q3, marking a 15% drop.
Major Wall Street firms, including Capital International, The Vanguard Group, and BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), each reduced their MSTR exposure by more than $1 billion. Even JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) sold roughly $500 million worth of shares during the same period.
