No, not quite true.
When I worked for a server vendor (who also was a VMware OEM), most of the customers I sold servers to for running ESX had VMware ELAs and rarely, if ever, purchased individual ESX per-socket licenses from me. This was also true for Microsoft Windows licenses when I worked at another server vendor (who was a Microsoft OEM).
What Chuck Hollis is saying is, when a server vendor OEMs VMware, there apparently is a cooperative support agreement that comes with being an OEM, so there is cooperative support between the server vendor and VMware regardless of from whom the customer purchased the VMware licenses (and software support contract).
This is a fair criticism, but Hollis did not communicate it well at all.
To Nutanix's point, I believe Nutanix should--like the Dells, HPs, IBMs ... er .. Lenovos, and Ciscos of the world--OEM vSphere, Hyper-V, RHEV, XenServer, OVM, and any other commercial hypervisors it supports (assuming the hypervisor vendor is willing), even if it does not sell a single license, to maximize its support for those hypervisors. It can always plan for its channel partners who are also VMware, Microsoft, etc. partners to sell the licenses separately if it makes the most sense for Nutanix, the partner, and the customer.
One has to ask: Why would Nutanix not OEM VMware? I can only imagine the reason Nutanix has not done this is because VMware's OEM agreement must be onerous. It may require the prospective OEM partner to offer VSAN and EVO:RAIL.
If anyone is a student of history, they will recall Microsoft had an onerous desktop OEM agreement which led to anti-competitive complaints.
At its core, Nutanix is a software company that sells a VMware plug-in. Yes, they also sell commodity hardware, and yes they have broadened their portfolio to include a Hyper-V plug in. But again, think of the ISVs who sold Windows desktop utilities, and ISVs who sold Windows desktop applications, who were destroyed as Microsoft put more functionality into Windows and Office. VMware has decided to follow that path.