Business briefing: Walmart to purchase 30 more Tesla trucks

Walmart said it will buy 30 more electric semitrailer trucks from Tesla for use in its Canadian operations. The retailer's order is in addition to 10 semis ordered from Tesla in November. Walmart said it plans to convert 20 percent of its Canadian fleet to electricity by 2022. The company said it will take delivery of the vehicles over the next five years. The first 20 semis will go to work in Ontario, with the remaining 20 going to British Columbia. Other companies like UPS have also placed orders but Tesla wouldn't say how many in total. Tesla says the semis can go 500 miles on an electric charge, even with a full 80,000-pound load. Production is expected to start next year.

The Wall Street Journal reported that CBS chief Les Moonves is negotiating with independent directors of CBS' board for a possible exit. CBS has appointed two law firms to investigate Moonves for sexual misconduct allegations stemming from a July New Yorker article. CBS didn't return a request for comment. The report cited unnamed people familiar with the talks. The Journal and CNBC both said Chief Operating Officer Joe Ianniello would be CBS' interim CEO if Moonves leaves. The Journal also reported that the independent directors are seeking an assurance that CBS parent National Amusements won't seek to combine CBS with sibling company Viacom, something Moonves has long resisted. CBS and National Amusements, run by media mogul Shari Redstone, are reportedly in talks to settle a court battle over control.

Tennessee's largest health insurer will stop covering OxyContin prescriptions as part of several measures to combat opioid addiction. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will encourage doctors to recommend two alternative opioid pain relievers, Xtampza and Morphabond, which are designed to be more difficult to abuse. The insurer will cease paying for OxyContin on Jan. 1, vice president for pharmacy Natalie Tate told the Tennessean . The suggested alternatives are more expensive than OxyContin, but customers will not have to fork over more money for the copay. Tate said BlueCross will absorb the additional cost.

Will the country that gave us espresso embrace the company that gave us grande Frappucinos? Starbucks is about to find out as it opens its first store in Italy on Friday. Residents of Milan, the city whose coffee bars inspired Howard Schultz's vision for the chain decades ago, have mostly greeted the news with a shrug. "I've tasted Starbucks coffee and I'll absolutely stick to Italian coffee," said Milan resident Giulia Brighenti as she scraped the foamy remains of her espresso at a coffee bar not far from Starbucks' new Reserve Roastery. In Italy, an espresso at a coffee bar is usually a quick morning or after-lunch ritual, downed while standing up. In many neighborhoods, cafes are on practically every corner, and Italians are on a first-name basis with their trusted barista. That presents a challenge for Starbucks, which is hoping people will linger to drink more expensive beverages.

Under pressure from U.S. safety regulators, Ford is recalling about 2 million F-150 pickup trucks in North America because the seat belts can spark and cause fires. The recall, which covers trucks from the 2015 through 2018 model years, comes about one month after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating fires in the pickups, which are the top-selling vehicles in the United States. Ford said Thursday that it has 23 reports of smoke or fire in U.S. and Canadian trucks, but it's not aware of any injuries. NHTSA began investigating in early August after getting five fire reports, including three reports that trucks were destroyed. According to Ford, seat belt pretensioners can generate excessive sparks when they tighten before a crash. That can ignite gases inside a support pillar between the front and rear seats, causing insulation and carpet to catch fire.