Researchers have designed a single-photon time-of-flight LiDAR system that can acquire a high-resolution 3D image of an object or scene up to 1 kilometer away. The new system could help enhance security, monitoring, and remote sensing by enabling detailed imaging even in challenging environmental conditions or when objects are obscured by foliage or camouflage netting.
No, tesla never had lidar in any of their cars, they had the same regular radar all other cars use, but yes it has since been disabled (or not installed on newer models) in favour of a camera-only solution.
Even so, the radar is at least better than not a damn thing.