A viral post on X (formerly Twitter) has stirred a heated online debate after claiming that owning a petrol pump could yield a “crazy ROI.” According to the post, an investment of Rs 50 lakh could reportedly generate an annual net income exceeding Rs 40 lakh. While the numbers seemed impressive at first glance, many users and even AI platforms raised doubts about the feasibility of such projections.

The Breakdown of the Claim

The original post laid out the following figures:

  • Initial investment: Rs 50 lakh
  • Profit per litre: Rs 3 on petrol, Rs 2.5 on diesel
  • Daily sales: 5,600 litres
  • Daily income: Rs 20,000
  • Monthly income: Rs 6 lakh
  • Monthly expenses: Rs 2 lakh
  • Net annual income: Rs 40 lakh+

In the post, the user, Sourav Dutta, suggested that such a business model would generate an excellent return on investment (ROI). However, the post has been met with skepticism.

Challenging the Projections

Many X users were quick to challenge these overly optimistic numbers. One user commented, “As someone whose family business has been in petroleum for 15 years, this is impractical and misleading. The economics do not make sense. The sales targets are unrealistic, and road infrastructure constantly changes. Plus, competition in every area makes it inefficient for dealers.”

Another user humorously responded, “Investment: 50L, who will give land for free? Daily income: 20K, better to open a chat house near a big college.”

AI’s View on the Claim

AI platforms like Perplexity and Grok also weighed in on the matter. Perplexity cautiously acknowledged that the numbers weren’t entirely impossible but stressed that they depended on ideal conditions—consistent sales, minimal downtime, and low competition—which were far from guaranteed. Grok, meanwhile, estimated the actual net profit to be closer to Rs 16 lakh annually, pointing out that the monthly expenses of Rs 2 lakh seemed inflated for smaller operations.

Both AI tools noted that while the profit margins of Rs 3 per litre on petrol and Rs 2.5 on diesel were within industry norms, real-world factors such as infrastructure costs, staff salaries, and competition were not adequately accounted for in the original post.

Read also: