DETROIT (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc has been working with Daimler AG on an electric Smart car and expects to supply battery packs and chargers for 1,000 vehicles initially, Tesla founder Elon Musk said Tuesday.

The nonexclusive supply agreement with Daimler could run into the tens of thousands of vehicles, Musk said at a Society of Automotive Analysts conference on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.

Musk said he had just received permission from Daimler Tuesday to disclose the partnership on the Smart. The Smart was a fast-selling vehicle for Daimler in 2008, supported by its introduction to the United States.

"It certainly will be ready to be deployed this year -- whether Daimler chooses to do that or not is up to them," Musk said of the battery packs and chargers Tesla is set to supply.

Musk said he did not know where Daimler would choose to deploy the electric Smart cars.

(Reporting by David Bailey, editing by Matthew Lewis)