SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 27 Reuters Tesla is expected to post another record quarter for electric vehicle EV deliveries, likely shy of an ambitious 2 million annual internal target that CEO Elon Musk touted at the beginning of the year.

Faced with slowing sales, Tesla leveraged its industryleading margins and slashed prices of its four car models globally in 2023, with a focus on China, where the company has lost market share to locals including BYD.

The price war and slowing EV demand, however, have prompted automakers including Ford Motor F.N to pull back on their electrification plans, leaving Tesla as the undisputed leader in the United States and helping its stock more than double this year.

The fourth quarter is typically the strongest of the year in terms of deliveries for Tesla, we39;re expecting that to be the case again this year, said Garrett Nelson, senior analyst at CFRA Research.

Tesla likely delivered 1.82 million vehicles globally in 2023, up 37 from 2022, with about 473,000 units in the fourth quarter, according to 14 analysts polled by LSEG.

In January, Musk said that Tesla has the potential to achieve 2 million deliveries this year, if there was no freaking force majeure. But as recently as October, he warned that higher borrowing costs were pressuring demand.

The company, which made a yearend sales push by increasing discounts on its key models, has said it aims to achieve a 50 average annual growth rate over multiple years.

Going into 2024, the EV…