Known or not....this is a big FU to every customer in my book.
Rather than being honorable and saying..."You know what? I have an order with BFL, and I will ship my own when every customer to date has his/hers. Sorry for the delays."
Lets say he does what you said, and doesn't set aside any chips for the IPO. Now a few customers get their chips a few weeks sooner, and it's a giant FU to all of those who bought into the IPO (which does not include me).
There's a limited amount of chips in the first batch. Not everyone can get their chips. Someone has to wait. Do they make the customers wait? The IPO investors? If Josh was getting a free MR just for his own personal profit, then I would be pissed.