French electric marine motor manufacturer TEMO is bringing its latest electric propulsion system to North America, offering sailboat owners an interesting middle ground between a conventional outboard and a permanently installed pod drive.
It’s been nearly two years since we last checked in on the French e-boat motor maker, but it appears they’ve used that time well to make several new advancements, chief among them the TEMO OUTPOD system.
The novel electric boat drivetrain will make its North American debut at the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, later this week. The OUTPOD was previously awarded the Best Innovative Product prize at the 2025 Paris Nautic Show, and is now becoming available for boaters in the US.
There are several electric boat motors out there, and even a few specifically designed for sailboats. But the interesting part here is how TEMO has approached installation. Traditional pod drives generally require cutting into the boat’s hull, while electric outboards hang from the transom. The OUTPOD instead places an underwater pod drive on an external, bolt-on transom mount, meaning there’s no drilling below the waterline.
The motor can also slide off its mount for storage or maintenance. A height-adjustable mast allows sailors to pull the entire motor out of the water using a halyard while sailing, eliminating the drag of leaving a propeller in the water. The shaft can rotate through 180 degrees for maneuvering and hydrogeneration.
TEMO is launching two versions. The OUTPOD 1000 produces 1,300 watts and 66 lb (30 kg) of static thrust, while the larger OUTPOD 3000 bumps that to 3,100 watts and 148 lb (67 kg) of thrust. Interestingly, the motor itself weighs just 26 lb (11.8 kg) in either version.
Power comes from removable 2.3 kWh batteries that slot into an auto-connecting rack, allowing owners to charge them either onboard using shore power or remove them for charging elsewhere. Sailors who already have a compatible 48V lithium battery bank can use that instead. It’s unclear if that only includes 48V batteries available from TEMO, but with so many commonly available large capacity 48V batteries these days, an open system could be quite convenient for sailors looking to add capacity or carry multiple batteries.
The system also supports both solar charging and hydrogeneration, allowing the propeller to feed energy back into the batteries while sailing.
It’s part of TEMO’s broader 48V SEASIDE ecosystem, which shares batteries and controls across several styles of electric marine motors ranging from 500W to 6kW.
The OUTPOD 1000 package starts at $2,600, while the OUTPOD·3000 carries a $5,400 MSRP. Both will be shown at the Annapolis show from October 15-18.
It’s another interesting example of how electrification can rethink marine propulsion rather than simply replacing a gasoline outboard with an electric one. For sailboats in particular, the ability to completely lift the drive out of the water when it isn’t needed – and then use it for hydrogeneration when desired – makes for a particularly compelling setup.
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