The government's methodology in compiling workplace data has changed twice in the last eight years, so comparisons between decades are not possible.
Nonetheless, Congressional leaders said that under their deal they will appoint an independent commission to study whether the government's methodology is sound, reflecting what families actually pay in taxes.
The report replicates the government's methodology for its National Greenhouse Gas Inventory quarterly reports, which the government traditionally delays releasing for up to nine months, and has in the past saved up and released quietly in a batch just before Christmas.
The panel also found fault with the Chinese government's methodology in calculating that automakers with factories in the United States — including Daimler, which makes Mercedes-Benz, and BMW of Germany — had underpriced their sales in China.
Dr Musk, the firm's chairman, concedes that racing Ferraris all the time would reduce the range somewhat, but points out that, using the American government's methodology, the car's fuel efficiency is the equivalent of 52.5km per litre of petrol (135 miles per American gallon).
Almost all such predictions are wrong, but one of the site's early efforts, to predict car sales, was spectacularly wrong: it was based on a misunderstanding of the government's methodology.
The truck and bus industries say the government's methodology for determining the scores is unfair; safety advocates say the scores are a useful safety indicator.
In the government's methodology, these people are not counted as part of the official unemployment rate, thus understating the jobless problem.
