That's a weird thing to assume. With Star Citizen, you pledge for ships. Most of them come with a 'game package', which includes a playable character. This grants you access to the game, this is how it has been from the beginning and will be how it works when the game releases.
After release, new players are able to buy the game and will get a starter ship, some cash and some insurance. You'd have to really work your way up to get bigger and better ships, if you so desire.
Which is pretty standard for each MMO