Adrian Portelli slashes the price of fuel at his Melbourne petrol station to all-time low as he takes a fiery dig at critics

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Adrian Portelli has surprised everyone by dropping fuel prices even further at his new gas station in Melbourne.

Last week, 37-year-old Australian billionaire Tim Gurner opened a new petrol station, LMCT+, in Preston. He’s selling unleaded petrol for only 99 cents a litre.

He went one better on Thursday, announcing that he had cut the price to just 49 cents per litre.

Portelli posted a video on Instagram of himself kicking a price sign, which then updated to show a price of $49.99.

Sporting a cheeky grin, Adrian declared: ‘F*** the system,’ before striding out of frame.

You know, after that initial reaction, I playfully admitted I did raise the price a bit. Honestly, it was a little jab at those who doubted my vision for this whole project – sometimes you have to have a sense of humor about the naysayers!

He assured viewers he’d raised the price, then turned the camera to show the new sign displaying $49.99.

‘Go and get f***ed, 49 cents,’ he said. 

‘You know what? F*** you all – 49 cents, come and get it.’ 

When Portelli announced a discount, his 1.2 million Instagram followers reacted with enthusiastic support.

One person remarked that helping the right individual become very wealthy is a good thing, while another added that this man truly cares about and supports ordinary people.

Another offered a similar sentiment while taking a not-so-subtle swipe at the Federal Government.

‘Done more for the people in the last few weeks than Labor has done in six months,’ they wrote.

Someone else commented that gas prices were the lowest they’d ever seen, saying, ‘I’ve never seen gas this cheap in my life.’

The comment was not lost on Portelli, who uploaded a third clip about his cut-price fuel.

‘Here is a fun fact. Petrol in Australia hasn’t been 49.9 cents since around 1985,’ he said.

Okay, so I’ve been tracking petrol prices obsessively, and after adjusting for inflation – which, let’s be real, is a huge deal – it’s basically around a dollar a litre! Honestly, I can’t believe it. As far as I can tell, petrol has never been this affordable in Australia, ever! It’s amazing, I’m stocking up!

‘So, I don’t know what to say now. Just come and get cheap fuel.’ 

Portelli officially opened the first of his chain of petrol stations last week.

Fans surrounded him for hours at the event, and it ended with his well-known tradition of giving away an incredible $1 million.

In December 2025, the business owner revealed plans to add a gas station to LMCT+, his popular membership rewards program.

That evening, Portelli told the Daily Mail he wanted to help his community by providing affordable gas, especially as Australia was experiencing fuel shortages.

‘Yeah, look, I’m gonna do what I can to relieve that,’ Portelli said of the country’s fuel crisis.

As someone who really values the relationships I’ve built with my customers over the years, I’m committed to supporting them, even if it means accepting lower profits right now. They’ve always been there for me, and it’s important to me to be there for them during challenging times.

Portelli admitted his current low prices would probably cost him money, but he plans to raise them eventually.

I just wanted to express our gratitude. We will need to raise prices eventually, but we’ll continue to offer wholesale fuel pricing.

After launching, Portelli responded to criticism online about his pricing. This pricing is exclusive to members who have purchased a yearly club membership.

Someone criticized Portelli’s business model, pointing out that customers pay $240 annually plus $1 per liter of fuel. They argued that even though they pay a slightly higher price per liter – currently 79 cents more – and save $240 a year, the collective spending of many customers likely makes Portelli very wealthy, questioning how this benefits the community.

Portelli strongly disagreed with their statements, immediately pointing out that his business provided significant savings for all customers.

Portelli snapped back, saying, “You’re not thinking clearly. Even saving just 20 cents per litre on 50 litres of fuel each week adds up to $520 a year. Plus, a typical fuel-saving device only costs $99 a year. Just stop talking nonsense.”

He shared that he has ambitious plans to grow his business and assured his members they’ll continue to benefit from his savings opportunities.

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2026-04-30 09:05