The start of production of the Tesla Model 3 is all set to begin this July in a “limited” capacity, although according to InsideEVs, the first wave of models that roll off the production line are earmarked for Tesla’s employees and investors. While that allocation part isn’t entirely that big of a deal, the timetable for the car’s production is, especially if Tesla is serious about achieving its goals of producing 5,000 units per week by the fourth quarter of this year and 10,000 units per week sometime in 2018.

To its credit, Tesla has already started production trials for the car in anticipation of the massive volume it has to deal with once full-scale production commences. Tesla, after all, has more than 370,000 deposits to deal with, right?

For everyone’s sake then, let’s hope that the company’s production plans for the Model 3 are all ironed out. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is saying all the right things at the moment, even telling reporters recently that the ramp-up in the production of the Model 3 will happen slowly to give Tesla some form of breathing room to address potential bugs and issues.

That’s good to hear because history hasn’t been kind on Tesla’s production promises. Remember, both the Model S and Model X experienced massive production delays during their launch. The Model X, in particular, was delayed numerous times for a myriad of reasons, including issues with suppliers that ended with ugly lawsuits on both sides. Those delays pushed the launch of the Model X from its original launch timetable in the early part of 2014 all the way to the end of 2015. That’s almost two years, if you’re keeping score.

For the sake of the Model 3, which Tesla is promoting as the model that would signal the company’s entry into mainstream markets, delays of any sort would be devastating to the company. It's not a premium model like the Model X that can be explained through automotive and legal jargons. This is a car that has almost 400,000 pre-orders attached to it, and you can be sure that a lot of those deposits will be canceled if Tesla suffers any delays in the production of the Model 3.

Let’s all hope that it doesn’t come to that then.

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Steady progress; just don't trip too much along the way

Tesla, for all of its quirks and warts, is a proactive company. Its success has spurred a global shift towards electrification and autonomous driving technology, and it would be bad news for the company if its reputation takes a massive hit because that ever-so inglorious “D-word” pops up in one of its press releases soon.

I’m not a fan of everything that Tesla does, but I do know that it’s important for the automaker to have a smooth production run of the Model 3. It’s doing its part, that much I can appreciate. The Gigafactory 1 in Nevada where production of the Model 3 will take place is coming along, and the company is already moving to finalize locations for as many as three new Gigafactories by the end of the year. Those are good signs that Tesla is going to be able to handle the massive production volume of the Model 3 so let’s hope that it can get to that point without having too many setbacks along the way.

I know that it’s impossible to assume such a scenario considering how complicated the production process of these cars are, but if Tesla can keep the trips and stumbles to a minimum, then it’s going to be in a good position to meet the Model 3’s production run.

Read our full review on the 2018 Tesla Model 3 here.