Xiaomi is gearing up for a major expansion into Europe, and as part of that effort, the Chinese tech giant has recruited a former Tesla employee to help strengthen its operations ahead of its planned 2027 market entry.
According to a post on LinkedIn, Dieter Lorenz, who most recently served as Tesla’s Senior Manager of Delivery Operations for Central Europe, has moved to Xiaomi to take on the role of Head of Delivery & Logistics Europe.
“After 6 years at Tesla, last week marked my final week with the company. I’m grateful for the experiences and the people I had the chance to work with along the way,” Lorenz wrote on LinkedIn.
During his time at Tesla Lorenz worked his way up through multiple operational roles across Germany and Central Europe. His responsibilities expanded steadily over time, eventually overseeing delivery operations across several key markets including Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. By late 2024, he was leading delivery operations across Central Europe, making him one of the more experienced logistics leaders in Tesla’s regional structure.
Importantly, Lorenz may not be the only Tesla veteran making the jump. According to Electrek, Xiaomi has also hired at least one other former Tesla operations employee in Europe, Marvin M, who left the company in March according to his LinkedIn profile. The moves suggest a targeted effort to recruit talent with experience scaling EV deliveries across complex, multi-country markets.
The hiring aligns with Xiaomi’s plans to expand into Europe, which is scheduled to begin in 2027. The company has already laid some groundwork, including opening a European Research and Design Centre in Munich in 2025.
For Tesla, the loss of experienced operational talent comes amidst a string of recent high profile exits from the company. As we reported last month, two key employees in the Cybercab program, Mark Lupkey and Victor Nechita, have both left the company, while Tesla’s customer experience leader now works at a cryptocurrency firm.
