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No, 7-Eleven isn’t selling gas for $7.11 per gallon

A photo circulating on Twitter that shows gas selling for $7.11 per gallon at 7-Eleven was taken more than one year ago and shows a new station testing its sign.

Though the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. is just under $5, drivers in some states are paying even more at the pump. In California, the average price per gallon was $6.38 as of June 21, according to AAA.

Claims about the cost of gas have been circulating since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, a move that led to increased energy costs worldwide. For example, a fake photo claiming to show gas prices at $9 per gallon at a station in Stockton, California, made the rounds on Facebook in March – but the price was actually $5.03 at the time

Now, another photo posted on June 19 and shared more than 80,000 times on Twitter claims to show a gallon of both regular unleaded gasoline and diesel selling for $7.11 at a 7-Eleven location. The Twitter user wrote in an ominous message that “the prophecy has been fulfilled.”

Elon Musk shared the photo via Twitter several days later without a caption. His tweet also garnered more than 60,000 shares. 

VERIFY viewer Ben also texted the team to ask whether a 7-Eleven location is selling gas for $7.11 per gallon.

THE QUESTION

Is 7-Eleven selling gas for $7.11 per gallon?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

This is false.

No, 7-Eleven isn’t selling gas for $7.11 per gallon. The photo is more than a year old and shows  a new station testing its fuel price sign. 

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WHAT WE FOUND

7-Eleven, Inc. told VERIFY that the photo shared on social media is more than a year old. Though the image is real, it doesn’t show a fuel station that’s in service. 

Building contractors used to test the fuel price signs at newly built, but not yet open, 7-Eleven locations at $7.11 “in honor of the store’s name,” the company said. 

A spokesperson for GasBuddy also wrote in an email that 7-Eleven “commonly uses the $7.11 price when testing their signs.” 

“We have since requested that building contractors stop this practice and hope this recently recirculated photo did not cause any confusion for 7-Eleven customers,” 7-Eleven said in its statement. 

A similar photo of gas prices displayed as $7.11 per gallon at a 7-Eleven location was also posted on Reddit in July 2016.

RELATED: Yes, these five U.S. states have passed their own gas tax ‘holidays’ in 2022

Matt Beemsterboer initially posted the photo now circulating on Twitter to Reddit in 2021. He also confirmed in a tweet on June 20 that he took the photo when test prices were displayed and gas at that station was currently selling for less than $7 per gallon.

Beemsterboer told NPR on June 21 that he was walking nearly three blocks from his Chicago home about a year ago when he saw an old Mobil gas station being rebuilt as a 7-Eleven. 

GasBuddy’s spokesperson said that if the station mentioned in the NPR story is accurate, it’s selling gas for $6.09 per gallon as of June 22. There aren’t any stations with gas currently priced at $7.11 per gallon, they added. 

VERIFY reached out to Beemsterboer for information about the gas station’s location, but hasn’t received a response at the time of publishing. 

It’s also worth noting that diesel fuel prices have been higher than regular-grade gas prices almost continuously since September 2004, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). That means you wouldn’t see a sign where the price for both gasoline and diesel fuel is $7.11 per gallon, as shown in the viral photo.

The average price of diesel fuel per gallon in the U.S. was about $5.81 on June 22, compared to roughly $4.96 for a gallon of gasoline, according to AAA

RELATED: Yes, gas stations can charge different prices for different payment methods

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